Monday, May 5, 2014

Cast-Iron Pizza

I made pizza and it turned out good! I feel like we should shout that from the rooftops. I admit, pizza is the one food that's usually off-limits to my cooking skills. I've tried (and failed) so many times that if we eat pizza at all it's usually from a restaurant! However, I mustered up enough optimism in me last week to give it one more try. And it worked! You make this pizza in a cast-iron skillet and need to be very mindful of the time because it only cooks under the broiler for about two minutes. Strange, isn't it?! I was talking to my husband, watching my two girls who climbed up the stairs, AND trying to watch the broiler while I made this. Part of the crust burned (oops) but it was such a thick crust I just took the burnt part off and it still tasted fabulous.

Just keeping it real. So if you make this, keep an eye on the time! :)

Directions:Crust-In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, honey and olive oil. Mix with a spoon, then let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add in 2 1/2 cups flour and salt, stirring with a spoon until the dough comes together but it still sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball and work in the additional 1/2 cup flour, kneading it on a floured surface for a few minutes. Rub the same bowl with olive oil then place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 1 1/2 hours.

Pizza-After the dough has risen, punch it down and place it back on the floured surface. Sometimes I work in a few more sprinkles of flour if the dough is sticky. This amount of dough yielded 2 pizza crusts for my 12-inch cast iron skillet. If you're using an 8-inch, you may get 3 doughs, but you also may just want to stick with 2 thicker doughs. Divide the dough evenly in half (or thirds). Place one dough on a well-floured pizza peel and roll into a round about the size of your skillet.

At this point, place an oven rack directly under your broiler and preheat your broiler to the highest setting. Additionally, place your cast iron skillet on the stovetop burner, turning the heat on high. You want to heat the skillet for 10 minutes. If it begins to smoke a lot, you can reduce the heat a bit. But you want it HOT.

Turn the skillet burner off and carefully place the crust inside. Do NOT touch the skillet-it will still be very hot! Next add your sauce and toppings.

Place the entire skillet under the broiler for one minute.
Turn around completely and broil for an additional minute.